The second-best player in college basketball typically plays for a national program.

What a huge miss by all the elite coaches. Guess they were too busy telling their middlemen which players to steer their way for cash.

Morant once actually played on the same summer team in South Carolina with the best player in college basketball — Duke’s Zion Williamson.

Since I first heard of Williamson when he was in ninth grade, you know coaches were already watching his games and trying to establish a relationship.

And the point guard passing him the ball that one summer was Morant … and none of these so-called experts noticed?

LOL … so many coaches act like they are ultimate geniuses when it comes to assessing talent. Many of them are so not experts.

Kind of like two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry playing in ACC territory and none of those schools thinking he was good enough to play at that level.

So Curry becomes a legend at tiny Davidson and you can still see the egg on the faces of all those silly coaches.

Kawhi Leonard is a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and an NBA Finals MVP. None of the Pac-12 coaches thought he was all that good so he ended up at San Diego State.

There are hundreds of other such stories because let’s say it how it is — identifying which teenagers are going to become college stars isn’t always that easy.

Here are the schools Morant had to choose from — Maryland Eastern Shore, Duquesne, South Carolina State and Murray State.

After Morant chose Murray State, apparently South Carolina coach Frank Martin became aware of him and offered him a scholarship. Clemson also learned of him and get this, the Tigers wanted him to be a walk-on.

Wow. Pay more attention to young basketball players in your state and less attention to the Confederate Flag.

Anyway, Morant is now the star of the NCAA Tournament after posing the tourney’s first triple-double in seven years. He will try to guide the Racers into the Sweet 16 on Saturday when they take on Florida State.